


Tavern Adventures

by merthurmagic025



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Drinking, Drunkenness, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Taverns, set in season 4, stupid boys in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurmagic025/pseuds/merthurmagic025
Summary: "Whaddaya think? Ya had 'nough yet?" Arthur asked."Not even closhe," Merlin replied unconvincingly.-------Merlin, Arthur, and the knights go to the tavern to celebrate a successful hunting trip. Merlin and Arthur get into a drinking competition that leads to two barely conscious boys complimenting each other and ending up in a compromising situation.
Relationships: Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 369





	1. Tavern Adventures

**Author's Note:**

> I first wrote this in 2015 on fanfiction.net (and oof my writing at 15 years old was not great lol). However, I've gone back and made it better and decided to post it on here! I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

"What did you just say?" Arthur shouted in Merlin's direction.

Merlin smirked, hiccupped, and replied, "I _said_ you can't hold your liquor!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes, glaring at his servant, who was swaying a little on his stool. They were at the tavern with the knights celebrating after returning from a bountiful hunting trip, and everyone had already gotten a little tipsy, Merlin especially. "Is that right? Look who's talking!" Arthur responds as the knights erupt in laughter.

Merlin turned and glared at them, earning a drunken wink from Gwaine. He rolled his eyes and looked back at Arthur. "There's only one way to settle this.” Arthur grinned, knowing exactly what his friend was about to suggest. "A drinking contest!" Merlin finished.

As Gwaine and Percival laughed in anticipation of said contest, Leon and Elyan rolled their eyes in exasperation.

"This is completely ridiculous," Leon told Elyan. The knight nodded in reply, but couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Leon saw him and rolled his eyes again before standing up and walking out of the tavern. The three remaining knights watched him go as a single thought ran through their minds: _He doesn't know what he's missing out on._

Meanwhile, the contest was underway. Arthur had grabbed the first tankard and gulped it down remarkably fast. He smacked his lips and looked to the knights for praise, which was definitely awarded as they shouted "long live the king!" perhaps a little inappropriately, but Arthur just smiled like it was normal.

 _Wow, how arrogant can a person be?_ Merlin sighed and gestured for Percival to hand him a tankard. Then Gwaine showed up with a barrel full of mead. Although they were surprised, no one questioned how he obtained such a thing. Gwaine took the tankard out of Percival's hand, filled it, and planted it in front of Merlin, who shrugged and picked it up. Following his king's example, Merlin downed the contents in just a few gulps. He then slammed the tankard on the table and gave Arthur a challenging glare. Arthur's eyes narrowed, but he smirked and held his tankard out to Gwaine to be refilled, never breaking eye contact with Merlin.

By Merlin's fourth cup, Elyan had gone home, claiming that it was too much for him and he'd break a rib if he kept laughing this much. That left Gwaine and Percival. While Gwaine refilled the tankards, Percival retreated to observe from afar. The two of them had stopped drinking a while ago, but hadn't quite sobered up yet. Besides, they felt drunk just looking at Merlin and Arthur!

An hour later, they were still going. When Merlin held his tankard out to Gwaine, he couldn't keep his arm from swaying and Gwaine had to hold it still for him. This sight made Arthur burst into drunken laughter, but it quickly ceased when his head hit the table. Percival rushed over to check on him. He lifted Arthur's head and was startled when it began to shake. Arthur looked straight at Merlin with a lopsided grin on his face and announced, "It's not over yet!"

Five drinks each later and both Merlin and Arthur were moving sluggishly and slurring their speech. "Whaddaya think? Ya had 'nough yet?" Arthur asked.

"Not even closhe," Merlin replied unconvincingly.

Arthur smiled sloppily and put his tankard down on the table instead of handing it to Gwaine. "You win, Merlin," he announced.

Merlin held his glare at first, but gave in and put his tankard down as well. Gwaine started clapping, followed shortly after by Percival. Merlin and Arthur could only smile clumsily, but their hearts were in it.

The two knights settled at their own table to have a somewhat sober conversation, leaving Merlin and Arthur at their own table. After a few minutes of drunken staring, Arthur spoke up. "Merlin," he called, getting the servant's attention. "I've always sort of liked your neckerchiefs, even if they do hide your _amazing_ collarbones."

Merlin smiles and lazily points in Arthur's direction for a second before his arm falls to the table. "Well I'm just glad you don't wear them because I _love_ looking at your perfect neck, sire."

Arthur grins and opens his mouth to talk but he passes out and collapses onto the table. Merlin chuckles loosely and shouts, "Hey, knight-y knights! I think it's time for-" He yawns, "night-y night..." And with that, Merlin collapsed onto the table as well.

Percival and Gwaine cut their conversation short and chuckled tiredly. Percival grabbed Merlin and draped him over his shoulder while Gwaine picked Arthur up and put him in his arms, bridal style. He looked to Percival and smiled, "Shall we?"

They each carried their respective drunken dead weight through the lower town and into the castle. When Gwaine turned right to go to the king's bedroom and Percival turned left towards the physician's chambers, Merlin and Arthur simultaneously regained consciousness.

The two knights stopped in their tracks as Arthur flailed his limbs in an attempt to be set free and Merlin tried to claw his way down Percival's back. Both knights maintained a strong grip, however, and neither of them got free.

Merlin opened his mouth and cried, "I miss you already, Arthur!"

Arthur, limbs still flailing, called, "I bid you farewell, oh servant of mine!"

The knights could only laugh as Merlin and Arthur both started crying. "Should we just put them in the same bed?" Percival suggested. Gwaine looked at Merlin who was still attempting to climb down Percival's back to get to Arthur. "Yeah," Gwaine sighed tiredly.

Unconscious again, Merlin and Arthur were carried to Arthur's quarters and dumped haphazardly onto the bed. Gwaine and Percival chuckled as they left, imagining the situation the next morning.

* * *

The sun shined in through the window, illuminating Arthur's bed. The same rays of light woke the two _very_ hungover men in the bed.

Merlin squinted and groaned at the light. He felt a pressure around his waist and his bed felt oddly-shaped and… far too soft. Reluctantly, he looked up and saw Arthur. At the sight of his king so close to him, he jolted, planning to make a quick escape. However, as soon as he moved, his head got crushed by a hammer! Or at least, that's what it felt like. He collapsed back down onto Arthur's chest with a _thud_ , which woke the king.

Arthur squinted and tried to move, but suffered the same splitting headache as Merlin. He felt a weight on top of him and his eyes widened when he realized it was Merlin. "M-merlin! What are you doing here?"

Merlin sighed. "I honestly have no idea. But, um, are you hugging me sire?"

Arthur looked down at his arm and noticed that he had a death grip around Merlin's waist. "No! Absolutely not! Why would I do that? Definitely not."

Merlin smiled at that but his smile vanished quickly when he remembered the problem at hand. "So, Arthur, I should be going..."

"Yes, yes, you should. Be on your way then!" Arthur ordered. Merlin only blinked at him. "What is it? Why aren't you leaving?"

"Well, sire, it's a bit difficult to do that since you're still huggi- sorry, _absolutely not_ hugging me."

"Oh," Arthur breathed. He removed his arms from Merlin's waist and the servant scrambled to get up. However, he happened to place his hand on Arthur's chest for support when pushing himself up. "MERLIN!" Arthur screamed.

"Sorry! Sorry sorry sorry sorry..." Merlin continued as he stumbled out of the room. Arthur let out a 'hmph' and tried to go back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Merlin was slowly making his way down the excruciatingly bright corridor when he ran into Percival and Gwaine.

"It's about time you got up, mate!" Gwaine remarked. Merlin groaned at him and kept walking towards Gaius's quarters and his own bed.

Percival and Gwaine watching him go, barely containing their laughter. "I wonder if he knows how messy his hair is," Percival announced.

"His hair? What about his clothes?" Gwaine laughed, looking at the jacket hanging off Merlin's shoulder.

The knights continued on their way and Merlin stopped walking, having heard everything they'd just said. He quickly fixed his hair and situated his jacket before mumbling, "I bet they had something to do with this."

* * *


	2. Bonus: The Next Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus oblivious bois, scheming Gwaine, and a kiss!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus oblivious bois, scheming Gwaine, and a kiss!
> 
> This was originally just a one-shot so this chapter is a bonus!

* * *

Seeing Arthur approaching from the other end of the corridor, Merlin gasped and quickly ducked into a side hallway, peeking out slightly to watch as Arthur passed him. Unfortunately for them both, Merlin had peeked out a  _ little _ too far and Arthur caught his eyes. 

A strong blush rose up on both of them as Arthur stopped walking to greet his servant. “Merlin,” he said professionally and without emotion. But Merlin knew Arthur’s face too well, and could see the panic hiding in his eyes. Oh gods,  _ why _ did he have to know this man so well?

“S-Sire,” he responded awkwardly, then dashed away as quickly as he could.

* * *

As Arthur continued on his way to the throne room, he reflected on the past week. Ever since that dreadful morning when he found himself - dear gods -  _ tangled up _ in Merlin, they’d been avoiding each other. Arthur really wanted to believe that it was nothing, that it meant nothing, and that their drunkenness was a valid excuse for waking up in the same bed together. And he tried, he really did, to act like it hadn’t happened. It was just that every time he saw his servant, he felt his cheeks heat and his heart start to pound in his chest, so he had to make a quick escape.

This…  _ condition  _ he’d come down with was unsettling to say the least. He’d gone to Gaius on the second day to ask if he had perhaps developed a cardiac malfunction. Gaius had assured him that he was in perfect health, but Arthur couldn’t believe it.

_ “Are you sure this is not a condition of the heart?” He had asked, desperately. _

_ Gaius had only raised his eyebrow in his signature style and replied, “Well, sire. It very well may be, but it is beyond my expertise. After all, I’ve never married,” before shoo-ing Arthur out of his chambers, leaving Arthur thoroughly confused. _

Arthur sighed as he reached the doors to the throne room. He couldn’t very well continue on this way. He’d had to dress himself -  _ dress himself _ \- for the last week, because every time Merlin so much as brushed his tunic, the two of them dashed apart as quickly as possible and Arthur invented some excuse for Merlin to leave immediately. This simply couldn’t be allowed to continue. 

They needed to have a conversation.

* * *

Meanwhile, Merlin was out in the woods gathering herbs for Gaius. The physician hadn’t asked him to replenish the stocks, but Merlin was in desperate need of some fresh air and a relaxing atmosphere. Specifically, with no chance of running into Arthur.

The last week had been thoroughly exhausting. Merlin still had to perform his usual duties to the king, but it took so much more energy to come up with ways to avoid any sort of contact, including eye contact. When bringing Arthur his meals, he’d knock, then turn around to face away from it while Arthur opened the door. Merlin would then hold the plate out behind his back, where Arthur would retrieve it, also facing away from the door. It was quite an ordeal, but since Merlin had instantly dropped the bowl of soup he was bringing Arthur for dinner that first day upon seeing the blush rising up his king’s neck, it was a very necessary process.

Waking Arthur up in the mornings was even worse. Merlin shuddered just thinking of how the previous morning had gone.

_ He had entered Arthur’s chambers to wake him, following their new routine established this week. Rather than approaching the head of Arthur’s bed, like he would have before the - _ events  _ \- following the night at the tavern, he instead took hold of the bottom bedposts and shook the bed until Arthur began to stir. He did this with his eyes completely focused on the ceiling, or the window, or the curtains, avoiding looking at Arthur’s soft sleepy face, or his wrinkled tunic that hung off his shoulders ever-so-slightly, or the endearing little bits of his hair that were sticking out every which way and - _ oh gods _ \- he was  _ looking _.  _

_ Merlin gulped and went to turn away, but it was too late. He could already feel the heat crawling up his neck and settling in his cheeks. His heart was pounding against his ribs and he had to make a break for it. Before Arthur even had a chance to stand up, Merlin was in the corridor, briskly walking away. _

The morning before that, he’d managed to wake Arthur up without incident, but his fingers accidentally brushed the back of Arthur’s neck while he attempted to get him dressed.  _ That _ had been a disaster ending with Arthur screaming, “Just- just  _ GET OUT! _ ” and Merlin sprinting away once again, leaving Arthur with a tunic hanging around his neck.

This simply wasn’t sustainable. 

Merlin knew he had to do something, but the idea of addressing the events of a week ago was terrifying. After all, he wasn’t sure what had even happened! Most of that night in the tavern was a blur, and he really only remembered waking up  _ in Arthur’s arms _ and scrambling away with a raging headache. Waking up in Arthur’s bed had  _ surely _ been the work of Gwaine and Percival, based on the conversation he’d overheard that morning. But why - gods -  _ why _ did it feel so nice to have Arthur’s arms around him? And why couldn’t he stop blushing at the sight of his king?

So, avoidance seemed to be the only answer at first. Every brush of clothing or skin sent an electric shock up through him, and judging by the way Arthur also jerked away, he felt it too. Gaius had commented on Merlin’s skittish behavior recently, and all Merlin could do was stutter excuses at him. Gaius had quirked his eyebrow and chuckled a little before letting Merlin go do whatever it was he was doing.

But avoidance wasn’t working anymore. Arthur had been late to a few meetings because Merlin hadn’t been there to help him prepare. He had given an  _ awful _ speech the other day because Merlin hadn’t written it for him. And Merlin was covered in small bruises from tripping and falling as he hurried away from Arthur every time they made contact.

Looking around at the trees towering over him, Merlin came to a decision. This had to stop. They had to have a conversation, and if that ended with Merlin having to leave the city and Arthur getting a replacement manservant, so be it. Destiny be damned, he just couldn’t take this anymore.

* * *

Gwaine was having the time of his life. The past week, he’d been watching as Merlin and Arthur blushed profusely in each other’s presence and scrambled away as soon as possible. It was utterly hilarious and it took all of his self-control not to burst out laughing at the sight of his king attending council meetings with his hair still uncombed. 

Today, he noticed, things were developing. Gwaine had eyes and ears all over the castle reporting back to him on the Merlin and Arthur situation, of course. After all, the knights all had bets going, along with a few notable members of the court, and Gwaine intended to win. Today, he’d been told that both men had been heard declaring to themselves that it was time to put an end to this. Gwaine wholeheartedly agreed. It was time for them to get it over with already and kiss, dammit. However, Merlin had been seen packing a bag, so that didn’t seem to be the resolution those two were planning on.

It was time for a Gwaine-tervention. Wait, no. That’s terrible. But anyway, it was time for Gwaine to intervene. And oooooh, did he have a plan.

* * *

Later that day, Arthur slipped a note under the door to Gaius’s rooms, folded up and addressed to Merlin. Normally, Gaius would never open a note that wasn’t addressed to him. But given the behavior of those two recently, he just had to know. It read:

_ Meet me in my chambers before dinner tomorrow. We have to talk about this. _

_ -A _

Grinning, Gaius folded the note back up and slipped it under the door to Merlin’s bedroom. Then he left his chambers in search of one of Gwaine’s “associates”. The knight would surely know how to make this meeting go as they planned.

* * *

_ The next day…  _

Arthur had been avoiding his chambers all afternoon, not wanting to accidentally run into Merlin before their scheduled meeting time. So, when he finally did enter his chambers, the state of them took him completely by surprise.

Flowers. There were flowers  _ everywhere _ . In vases, hanging in garlands from the ceiling, petals strewn across the floor, and, most notably, red rose petals sprinkled on his bed. Also, the door was suspiciously already open.

Arthur flushed extensively, racking his brain to think of who could have done this, but he didn’t have a chance to come up with an answer before Merlin stumbled in.

“Sire, I-” He stopped, looking around at the room. “I- um, did you do this?”

If such a thing was even possible, Arthur felt himself blush even more. “Of course not! I’m not a  _ girl _ , Merlin,” he said defensively. Merlin closed the door and Arthur looked on in horror as a circle of woven flowers fell from atop the door and landed askew on Merlin’s head.

Arthur froze. The light blue flowers contrasted his dark hair so well, and his eyes seemed brighter with the flowers to complement them. Merlin gulped, and Arthur watched his Adam’s apple bob intently.

Arthur’s eyes rose to Merlin’s lips, and how had he not noticed how perfect they were? His eyes widened as Merlin’s tongue darted out to moisten his lips and  _ oh _ , Arthur’s heart was racing. He took a tentative step toward Merlin, who had locked eyes with him. When he saw his eyes drop slightly and felt Merlin’s gaze on his own lips, Arthur couldn't take it anymore.

He lunged for his servant, grabbed the sides of his face, and pulled him in for a kiss. Their lips met and it was  _ everything _ Arthur had hoped for. Merlin made a small noise and Arthur pulled away, hoping, pleading with his eyes for Merlin to allow them to continue. When Merlin immediately wrapped his arms around Arthur, one on the small of his back and one on his neck, Arthur would have sworn he was the happiest man alive.

* * *

Peeking out from behind the door, Gwaine smirked as he watched Merlin and Arthur kissing. They seemed to be really getting into it, so Gwaine decided to give them some privacy.

He ducked out and looked to Gaius, Percival, and Elyan. Elyan was frowning while the other two were smiling just as much as Gwaine was. Gwaine put his hand out towards the non-believer.

“Alright, Elyan, pay up.”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Update: I just added a second chapter! It's a bonus, since I originally meant for this to be a one-shot. Feel free to leave it here or go read that if it tickles your fancy lol. Either way, I hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
